The father of Katie Price's 'missing' husband, Lee Andrews, has claimed his son is being held in a Dubai prison. The reality star had previously expressed fears that Andrews may have been kidnapped after she lost contact with him for 11 days.
Father's Statement
According to Andrews's father, Peter, his son has been detained by UAE authorities on an unknown charge. 'Lee is OK. He has not been kidnapped, but he is under arrest. I don't know on what charge,' Peter told DailyMail.co.uk. 'I'm not sure where he is being held. But he will call me later today.'
Background
Price, 47, married Dubai-based businessman Lee Andrews in January, just days after meeting him for the first time. The couple has been navigating a long-distance relationship, and their honeymoon period has not been without drama. The University of Cambridge has disputed Andrews's claims that he earned a PhD from the institution.
Price claimed that Andrews disappeared after he was due to fly from Dubai to the UK for an appearance on Good Morning Britain. According to Price, the Criminal Investigation Department in Dubai is looking for Andrews, but 'no one can find anywhere in the country that Lee has been detained.' 'We are now wondering, as far-fetched as it is, that he's a missing person now, I don't know if he's been kidnapped,' she added. 'No one can find him in any prison, any police station; the police can't find any record of him.'
Public Appeal
Price raised the alarm over Andrews's whereabouts for the first time publicly on 16 May in a YouTube video. 'I don't really know where to begin but I know there's all this speculation about Lee from when I met him,' she said. 'Something really, really serious has happened.'
She added that while she had posted to Instagram that Andrews was 'taking time out of socials' due to recent trolling, the truth was that he had been missing 'for three days.' 'The last time I heard from Lee was Wednesday night at 10pm, he was trying to go through the border in Dubai to get on a flight to me,' she said. 'We are wondering if he's been kidnapped; he's definitely a missing person now.'
She also claimed that Andrews's hands were tied when she last spoke to him. 'He had ties around his hand, not handcuffs, and a hood, and he said, 'Look, they're coming back for me,' that is the last FaceTime call I had,' she said. 'He was in a van, but the windows were white with a mesh. It looked like an old, dirty van.'
Official Response
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told The Independent: 'We are supporting the family of a British man and are in contact with the local authorities.' The Independent has contacted the Dubai police for comment.
